Container



Oct. 15, 1935.

c. GOLD 2,017,693

CONTAINER Filed Dec. 20, 1935 INVENTOR $H6HLES Goa-.1),-

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 15, 1935 STATES CONTAINER Charles Gold, New York, N. Y.

Application December 20, 1933, Serial No. 703,179

Claims.

This invention relates generally to dispensing devices and is more particularly directed to containers or receptacles for cigarettes and other articles of a tubular or cylindrical contour, from 5 which the articles stored therein may be withdrawn or extracted as desired.

While my invention, as will be manifest from the following description, may be utilized in conjunction with a large variety of articles of the aforesaid external profile or any other shape which will permit of the practicing of my inventionas hereinafter set forth, for the purposes of this disclosure, I have elected to show and describe it as employed in the storage and dispensing of cigarettes. However, this is merely illustrative, as will be understood, and is not to be construed, in any way, as limiting my invention to this particular application.

As is well known, various types of receptacles or containers are available for use in the home and elsewhere where cigarettes are provided for gratuitous distribution in which diiferentforms of spring actuated manually or automatically controlled feeding mechanisms are used for expelling the cigarettes, as desired. These are generally more or less expensive to produce and, in many instances, due to the manner in which the cigarettes are held within the container and actuated therethrough to discharging position, they become more or less flattened, the paper wrapper frequently being broken and permitting the tobacco to issue into and clog'the feeding mechanism rendering it useless or at least inefficient until the adhering tobacco is removed. The

clearing of the feeding mechanism is not always practicable, so that the container, in the majority of instances, is discarded. Again, where the feeding mechanism does not produce the unsatisfactory results just described, the tobacco 40 particles loosely associated within the wrapper or tube under the compression to which the cigarette is subjected in its expulsion from the container, fall from the end of the cigarette and create an untidy condition thereabout.

Therefore, the primary object of this invention is to provide a container for cigarettes which will adequately respond to the existing demand for a simple and economical container from which the cigarettes may be withdrawn at will, without dependence upon feeding or expelling mechanisms of those forms which it has been demonstrated are impracticable in one way or another.

It is also an important object of this invention to provide a cigarette container of the socalled dispensing type, which is designed for table and similar use, from which the cigarettes may be individually withdrawn as required, the cigarettes in their passage through the container to their position of withdrawal being at no time subjected to any compression or other forces that 5 might tend to injure their wrappers or cause a spillage of the tobacco content.

Another object of this invention is to provide a container of the so-called stand type, from which the contained articles may be individually 1 0 withdrawn, as wanted, without the interposition of any mechanical media, or the introduction of any element for rendering the article with-' drawable, the container-dispenser being in the class of free self-service devices. 15

Other objects of my invention and advantages flowing from the practicing thereof, will doubtless become manifest as the description proceeds, and I would have it clearly understood that I reserve .unto myself all rights to the full'range of 20 equivalents, both in structure and in..use, to which I may be entitled under mylinvention, in its broadest aspect.

To afford a comprehensive understanding? of the nature of my invention, I have elected to 25 illustrate and. describe certain embodiments thereof. As will be obvious, my invention may take other forms within the purview of the appended claims. 7

In the drawing: 3

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a preferred form of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, taken on the line 2'--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation, partly in section, 35 of the showing of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a modified type of container.

Figure 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the structure shown in Figure 4, and,

Figure 6 is a view, in perspective, of a further modification of my invention.

Referring now to'the drawing in detail, in which like characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts in the several Views, 45 and more particularly to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures'l to 3 inclusive, I provide a' container which may be formed of sheet metal, or cast, or produced from any suitable material, embodying parallel sidewalls I and 8, 50 end walls 9 and I0 and abase portion H which may carry a dependent lug or stem'lZ, preferably threaded, adapted towenter a sleeve or suitable receiving standard, as generally indicated at l3, 1 of a supporting medium, as a tray l4. Obviously, 55

the positions of the lug and sleeve may be transposed and, in lieu of the tray, any desired type of support or base may be employed. For instance,

the container might be mounted on a pen base the conventional desk design or other utilitarian or ornamental object, for convenient use, in the manner hereinafter described.

As will be observed, the end walls 9 and ll) of the container terminate above the line of the base II, the respective side walls I and 8 being cut away, as shown, to provide a rectangularly shaped recess disposed transversely of each end of the container, as indicated by the reference characters a and d. The surfaces defining these recesses may be softened or embellished by beads or other media, as at l8 and IS, the upper edge of the container being similarly treated, as at 20, to add to the attractiveness of the-design and its general appeal to the aesthetic sense.

Two cigarette-receiving compartmentsa and b are formed "within the container-by the longitudinally bisectingpartition l5 and its associated oppositely directed right angular lateral extensions l6 and I1, adjacent either end thereof,

the extension 5 being spaced inwardly of and parallel to the end wall 9 of the container, while the extension I! is correspondingly located rel-atively to the wall I!) thereof. Each of these extensions is carried below the terminal line of the adjacent end wall of the container, to form a jointure with the base I I, the extension I6 functioning as the external wall of the compartment a, within the area of the recess 0, with the extension I 1 functioning similarly with respect to the compartment 27, in the zone of the recess d.

' Each of the aforesaid compartments is of a width slightly in excess of the diameter of a standard size cigarette, the length of the compartment a, as defined by the extension l6 and 4c the end wall I!) of the container, and that of the H compartment 1), between the extension I! and the wall 9, likewise, being slightly greater than the length of a cigarette that is to be contained therein, it-being apparent that the compartment 45 a is open within the area of the recess d, while the compartment b is open within the area of the recess 0. Thus, when a plurality of cigarettes are stacked, one upon another, in each of the compartments, those in the lowermost positions 5 0 will respectively protrude 'into the recesses at either end of the container sufficiently, to permitof their being grasped between'the thumb and forefinger and extracted from the container by a longitudinal movement. As a cigarette is 55 withdrawn, that next above assumes the lowermost position, the feeding of the cigarettes through the container being solely dependent upon their gravitational movement while in a horizontal position, the maintenance of the cor- 60 rect feeding position and the requisite freedom for. movement being assured by the proper proportions of the respective compartments. The height of the container is such that ten cigarettes may be arranged in each compartment, thereby 65 providing for the dispensing of the contents of the usual package. Of course, the height may be increased to afford accommodation for a larger quantity of cigarettes, but it has been found that a container that will receive the contents of the 7 standard cigarette package adequately responds to the requirements of the majority of users of such smoking accessories.

In Figures 4 and 5, a container is shown which is designed for the reception of a half package 75; of cigarettes, stacked one upon another, the

length and width of the container being approximately the same as the corresponding dimensions of one of the compartments of the form of the invention just described. As in the struc-- ture of Figures 1 to 3, provision is made for the 5 withdrawal of the lowermost cigarette by cutting away one of the lower corners of the container, as indicated at e, the container being adapted to be mounted upon a suitable support in any of. the ways heretofore described, 10 In the form of the invention shown in Figure 6, a cigarette may be withdrawn from either end of the container, which, as will be manifest comprises two sections 2| and 22 having end walls 23-24 and 25-25, the wall 23 being recessed, at 15 1, while the wall 26 of the section 22 is similarly cut away at g. As will benoted, the end walls 23 and 25 of the respective sections, together with the end walls 24 and 26 thereof, are relatively offset, the wall 25 of the section 22, for example, 20 as the container is viewed in Figure 6, occupying a position inwardly of the wall 23 of the section 2| so as to afford access to the end of the cigarette that protrudes within the area of the recess f. This so-called stepped arrangement of the 25 container sections conforms to the modernistic trend in articles of the kind and may be readily produced in an integrally formed device provided with the necessary dividing wall,- as at 21, or by the jointure of two containers, such as 30 shown in Figures 4 and 5, with such modifications of their mating walls as may be required, in the production of a unitary structure.

While I have described my invention with reference to the particular forms shown, it will be 35 obvious that changes in details may be eifected to meet specific requirements of manufacture and use; also that the side walls of the container may be decorated with integrally formed or separately applied designs for different purposes, within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

I claim:

1. A container for cigarettes, embodying two similarly constituted receptacles, each being rectangular in shape and of a length slightly greater than that of a cigarette and of a width whereby a quantity of cigarettes assembled therein, will stack one upon another, an undercut recess at each end of said container, a part of the wall defining each recess being interrupted to provide an outlet from a receptacle the outlets from the respective receptacles being relatively offset and means functioning to uniformly position the cigarettes arranged within each receptacle with the lowermost cigarette protruding into the outlet with which such receptacle communicates to permit such cigarette to be grasped for withdrawal from the container only from such outlet.

2. A dispenser for cigarettes, embodying two separate compartments longitudinally offset relatively to each other, each being of a length slightly greater than the length of a cigarette and of a width slightly in excess of the diameter of a. cigarette, the defining walls of each compartment cooperating to guide a quantity of cigarettes entered therein, into a stack formation, one cigarette being disposed upon another, and an outlet at one lower end of each compartment, the respective outlets being located at opposite ends of the dispenser and laterally offset relatively to one another, the length of each compartment in the zone of its outlet being less than that of the portion thereabove, whereby a part of the lowermost cigarette of the stack alined therein will protrude from such outlet, to permit such cigarette to be grasped for withdrawal from the dispenser, the cigarettes in one compartment being available only at one end of the container, while those in the other compartment are available only at the opposite end of the container.

3. A container for cigarettes and the like, embodying two similarly constituted parallel receptacles, longitudinally offset relatively to each other each being adapted to support a plurality of cigarettes stacked one upon another, and an opening formed at one lower end of each receptacle within which a portion of the lowermost cigarette of the stack is exposed for grasping by the fingers to effect its withdrawal therefrom, and permit the cigarette next above to gravitate into the lowermost position, said openings being at opposite ends of the container and laterally ofiset relatively to each other.

4. A dispenser for cigarettes embodying a container, rectangular in cross-section, having side and end walls and a base, portions of the respective .walls and of the base being cut away to form an inverted L-shaped recess at each end of the container, each recess having an outlet located therein, the respective. outlets being disposed at opposite ends of the container and offset relatively to one another, internal means for segregating a quantity of cigarettes as entered into said container into two individual stack formations, the cigarettes of each stack being superposed one upon another, longitudinally of the container,

and means for locating the cigarettes of each stack relatively to a cooperating end wall of the container to maintain the ends of the cigarettes of such stack in vertical alinement with a portion of the lowermost cigarette protruding from the contiguous outlet, the cigarettes of each stack being withdrawable independently of those of the other stack and only from the outlet from which the lowermost cigarette of the stack protrudes, the lowermost cigarette of one stack being exposed only at one end of the container, while that of the other stack is exposed only at the opposite end of the container.

5. A container for cigarettes having means for supporting .a plurality of cigarettes entered therein in two parallel stacks, the cigarettes of each stack being disposed one upon another and being longitudinally offset relatively to those of the other stack and means for permitting the lowermost cigarette of either stack to be withdrawn from the container, the cigarettes in one stack being withdrawable only from one end of the container and those in the other stack being withdrawable only from the opposite end thereof, said means including an opening at each end of the base of the container through which a portion of the lowermost cigarette of ,the stack protrudes for withdrawa1 only, the two openings being laterally offset relatively to one another.

CHARLES GOLD. 

